Shameless Tuesdays: Livre 170 | Nick Haeffner
Even being away from the scene for nearly 30 years, the music kept on calling towards The Tea Set guitarist Nick Haeffner. In 2019, he put away his art college-teaching hat, and strapped his guitar back on to bring his lifelong project to fruition. The end result is his fourth album, What Time Can Do, a record that blends the styles of Brian Wilson, Syd Barrett, and George Harrison to make a one musical adventure.
Whether he's having fun with a cool girl in "The Cat's Pyjamas" or being blunt about the state of England in "It’s All Maggie Thatcher’s Fault", Haeffner keeps things groovy and nostalgic as he brings back a sound once lost to the struggles of time. (He even croons on a cool rendition of the Sinatra classic "My Funny Valentine"!) Considering he's got fans like Alan Moore (Watchmen) and Jason Falkner (Beck, Paul McCartney), one would be wise to book a trip on Haeffner's grand voyage. But first, before we see What Time Can Do, Nick Haeffner is going to make a quick pit stop in this week's Shameless Tuesdays!
Here's what Nick has to say about this week's "Baroque and Orchestral Pop" playlist:
I’m a singer/songwriter/guitarist from London. My first solo album, The Great Indoors (1987) was released on the psychedelic reissue label Bam Caruso through which I got to hear amazing orchestral pop by The Left Banke, Nirvana, Judy Collins, Kevin Ayers, François Hardy, Nick Drake and many more. Those artists had a big influence on my own music, for instance on my debut songs such as Don’t Be Late and Steel Grey (neither available on Spotify unfortunately) used a string quartet. Since then I’ve released four solo albums of which "What Time Can Do" remastered edition (Dimple Discs 2025) is the most recent. The influence of orchestral pop has never left me and continues on recent songs where I have been able to make use of the outstanding cello skills of Marcus Holdaway.
It’s great to see that a musical sound and style which reached its height in the 1960s with Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys and songs such Eleanor Rigby by The Beatles hasn’t died out. The High Llamas, Andrew Bird, The Divine Comedy, Sondra Lerche, Owen Duff and Bill Ryder-Jones and many others continue to draw on the tradition of orchestral pop to make great music. Here’s a selection of some of my favourite songs which feature orchestral instruments and arrangements.
For more information on Nick Haeffner, visit his official website, Facebook, and Instagram. Check out What Time Can Do below via his Bandcamp!
Promotional consideration provided by Shameless Promotion PR.
